Tag Archives: quiche

May 20, 2016 · 9:07 AM

Ham, Blue Cheese, and Pear Quiche

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Happy Friday! This week for Cook the Book Fridays we made Ham, Blue Cheese, and Pear Quiche from David Lebovitz’s book My Paris Kitchen. Sometimes when I sit down to write one of my “cooking club” posts, all I can think of to say is something along the lines of “it was good and I liked it”. But for this one, my head is swarming with ideas!

I could compare this quiche to the several we made from Around My French Table for French Fridays with Dorie (I like David’s thick and hearty quiche, but prefer Dorie’s crust; also, Dorie’s Spinach and Bacon Quiche will always be my favorite).

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I could talk about how my quiche took quite a bit longer to cook than the recipe suggested it would, so I made a last-minute change to my daughter’s dinner so she could eat at a reasonable time, which caused a bit of a meltdown (anyone with a child with autism who has trouble with flexibility will understand…; best quotes from the ordeal: “Mom, you made the wrong dinner!”, and “You accidentally cooked a hot dog”).

Or, I could discuss the fact that some people had trouble with the crust, but others didn’t (I am one of the lucky ones who had no problems).

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Instead, I’m going to talk about Food Revolution Day (which is today!). Mardi of eat. live. travel. write, one of our CtBF members (and also a French Fridays with Dorie alumni) is an ambassador for Canada for Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. The idea of the revolution is to improve access to healthy, nutritious food for children everywhere, improve knowledge about food and nutrition, and to teach people how to cook.

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This year, Jamie’s focus for Food Revolution Day is a “starter pack” of 10 recipes that teach cooking skills and provide nutritionally balanced meals. Mardi chose the quiche for us to make as a “starter” French recipe.

For me personally, I am so thankful that I can cook (and actually enjoy it!). I am thankful that I have the means to provide nutritious meals to my family every day.

If you are interested, here are the 10 Food Revolution Recipes: Food Revolution Recipes.

By the way, the Ham, Blue Cheese, and Pear Quiche was delicious. And my daughter loved her slice when we had the leftovers for dinner the next night.

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April 18, 2014 · 9:16 PM

Baby Bok Choy en Papillote + Quiche Maraîchère

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It’s Friday once again, and I actually made the “assigned” French Fridays with Dorie recipe this week!  I also caught up on last week’s recipe.  I’m on a roll!  Since I’m so close to being completely caught up on every FFWD recipe (only 6 to go!), I am determined.

This week I celebrated Spring with two dishes that are chock-full of vegetables:  Baby Bok Choy, Sugar Snaps, and Garlic en Papillote and Quiche Maraîchère.

Baby Bok Choy, Sugar Snaps, and Garlic en Papillote

Veggies on Parchment

This week we returned to the traditional French method of cooking in packets of parchment paper or foil.  This time it was some unexpected vegetables inside these packets:  baby bok choy, sugar snap peas, baby onions, and garlic.  The veggies were seasoned with orange zest, salt and pepper, and moistened with a bit of olive oil.

I tried an experiment.  I made two packets of veggies in parchment paper.  Then I put the rest of the vegetables in a baking dish covered in foil. Would there be a difference in taste?

Veggies in Baking Dish

It was close!  The vegetables in the baking dish took a little bit longer to cook and weren’t quite as moist.  The veggies cooked en papillote were slightly browned and a touch more flavorful.  But overall, there wasn’t a big difference.  If you are cooking this for a crowd, the baking dish method would be perfectly acceptable.

Veggies with Salmon

So, did we like it?  I liked it a lot.  The vegetables were perfectly cooked:  tender, but not mushy.  My husband liked the snap peas, but isn’t a fan of bok choy and this dish did nothing to change his mind.  My daughter gave it a baby taste and then didn’t touch it again.

Quiche Maraîchère

Quiche Maraîchère

In Dorie’s words, Quiche Maraîchère is “packed to the brim with celery, leeks, carrots, and little squares of red pepper”.  The word maraîchère means “truck farmer”, and when the word is used in a recipe name, you know that fresh vegetables are used.  In this quiche, there is only just enough custard filling to (barely) hold the vegetables together.  It is topped with Gruyere cheese part-way through cooking.

Slice of Quiche Maraîchère

This quiche was quite tasty!  I enjoyed it very much as a simple dinner with salad on the side.  My husband enjoyed it too, but wished there had been more eggs in the mix (there was only one and a half).  If you are looking for a vegetarian-friendly quiche, this one is a winner!

Both these recipes can be found in Dorie Greenspan’s wonderful book, Around My French Table.

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November 7, 2012 · 10:13 PM

Mushroom and Shallot Quiche + Crispy, Crackly Apple-Almond Tart

This is going to be short and sweet!  I made two French Fridays with Dorie recipes last week:  Mushroom and Shallot Quiche and Crispy, Crackly Apple-Almond Tart (a September recipe).

Mushroom Shallot Quiche

Dorie’s quiches are more like savory tarts than quiches, and this one was no exception.  It was chock full of mushrooms, seasoned with fresh thyme and green onions, and topped with a touch of Gruyere cheese.

Leftovers for Breakfast

I really loved Mushroom and Shallot Quiche.  I am torn whether this one or the Spinach and Bacon Quiche is my favorite.  My daughter loved it too.  She ate it heartily, both the night I served it and the next evening when she had leftovers while her dad and I were out on a date night (yay!).  My husband liked it, but thought it was a little heavy on the mushrooms.

Earlier in the week, I finally got around to making Crispy, Crackly Apple-Almond Tart.  This tart is a simple, but tedious, dessert to make.

Crisply, Crackly Apple-Almond Tart

The simple:  The almond cream is made by simply whisking together almond flour, sugar, an egg, vanilla, and heavy cream.  The apples are thinly sliced and placed on top of the tart.

The tedious:  Assembling the phyllo dough crust.  If you have never worked with phyllo before, it is very, very, very thin sheets of dough.  Eight of these sheets are laid out one at a time, buttered, and sprinkled with sugar.  Lay another sheet of phyllo on top and repeat.  I almost took the easy way out and used puff pastry.  The last time I worked with phyllo it was a nightmare!  But then I saw that Trader Joe’s now carries phyllo and thought it must be a better quality than I used last time, so I decided to give it a go.  The Trader Joe’s brand was much easier to work with.  Whew!

Look at those crispy, crackly layers!

The phyllo dough was worth the effort!  I loved the crispiness of the crust, and the caramelization caused by that sugar sprinkled between the layers.  The flavors all went together very nicely.

I guess that wasn’t so short and sweet after all!  Maybe I just had to think it would be so I could tackle it with abandon!

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February 3, 2012 · 10:52 AM

Gorgonzola-Apple Quiche

True story:  I started a new diet last week, and I was feeling pretty hungry as my body was still getting used to eating less food.  To begin planning this week’s meals, I read through the recipe for Gorgonzola-Apple Quiche.  It sounded so good to me, and made me remember how good the Spinach and Bacon Quiche was.  In particular, I was thinking about the wonderfully delicious pastry crust.  Now remember, I was feeling hungry.  So, that night I literally dreamed about making and eating Gorgonzola-Apple Quiche.  Elements of the dream stuck with me all night!

So, did the quiche live up to my dream?  Yes!  Especially that flaky, buttery crust.

The filling for Gorgonzola-Apple Quiche couldn’t be more simple.  Spread the prepared tart shell with sauteed onions, top with diced apple and Gorgonzola Dolce cheese, then pour over a mixture of heavy cream and eggs.

The flavors of this quiche are subtle but delicious.  My husband said he could not taste the apple, but I felt it provided a subtle sweetness.  The taste of the Gorgonzola Dolce was also not very prominent.  We ate this for dinner fresh out of the oven, but I ate a piece for lunch the next day.  The Gorgonzola flavor came out a little more after resting overnight.

Gorgonzola-Apple Quiche is this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe.  French Fridays with Dorie is an online group cooking our way through Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.

In case you missed it…earlier this week I posted a “recap” of some FFWD recipes from last summer that I cooked but didn’t get a chance to write about:  Catching Up with Dorie.

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